Oil Open Round 2

Wild day at the Syncrude Boreal Open. The rain drenched the course during my opening 9 and thanks to some tremendous iron play from the wet, thick rough, (which doesn’t say much about my tee shots) I stepped onto the 10th tee at -2 for the day. The rain abated and the wind kicked up. Our group had fallen 2 holes behind the group in front of us and we were placed “on the clock” (when a rules official times each player and penalizes them if they take more than :40 for one shot). During the three holes we were timed, my swing began to unravel and an indecisive swing following an aggressive approach shot into a par 5 led to a double bogey. My energy had diminished and my faith in my swing with it. A few tentative shots left me 20 feet for birdie on the par 5 8th hole (my 17th). Knowing I was towing the cut line, the putt had to go in and I drained it! I thought I was clear of the cut at -2 for the tournament on the last tee. I then blocked a tee shot 20 yards into the dense trees and found it nestled between three tree trunks. With an unplayable lie and a small opening in the trees, the cut was getting sharper by the stroke. I managed to position my ball 15 feet from the hole in 4 strokes on the par 4 9th. I was sure I had to make the bogey putt to make the cut. I focused, believed and trusted the ball would find the bottom of the cup. After I stroked the putt and looked up, I was very relieved to see the ball fall over the center of the hole with perfect speed! A few fist pumps later, I had made the cut at -1 through 36 holes and began preparing for tomorrow: moving day.